Blue Cranes breed less successfully in the Western Cape Wheatlands than in their traditional range, highlighting a potential ecological trap for South Africa’s national bird.

This is concerning for this stronghold of the Blue Crane (Grus paradisea) population, and might explain why numbers have been declining for the last decade,  a paper entitled Reduced Blue Crane Grus paradisea breeding productivity in intensive agricultural landscapes, states.

The research, published in the Journal of African Ornithology, Ostrich, compared the breeding of Blue Cranes in the Western Cape wheatlands in the Overberg and Swartland, Karoo and eastern grasslands of South Africa.  It found that the birds bred more frequently in the grasslands and the Karoo than in the Overberg or Swartland.

The Swartland pairs were found to fledge chicks half as often as Overberg, grasslands and Karoo pairs indicating that low breeding productivity and recruitment could explain the declining Blue Crane population in the Western Cape wheatlands and that the region has become “an ecological trap for the species”.

By engaging with landowners to reduce nest disturbances, promoting chick-safe water troughs to prevent drownings and reducing fence entanglements by improving fence designs could result in more efficient and successful breeding, the report states.

The findings, the report states, highlight the challenges and complexities with conserving the remaining biodiversity in transformed or novel landscapes where species, such as the Blue Crane, require sustained and intensive management to maintain their population.

In 2025, the Blue Crane was uplisted from Near Threatened to Vulnerable in the Red Data Book of Birds reflecting growing concern about the future of the species, and underscoring the critical role of the Overberg region in renewed efforts to protect the birds.

The uplisting states that the reasons behind the dramatic decline in the Overberg over the past 14 years included disturbance during the breeding season, collisions with power lines, entanglement in farm fencing and baling twine and poisoning – often from substances intended for other species. In addition, shifts in agricultural practices over the past decade, including minimum till and increased canola production, altered the landscape, reducing the availability of suitable feeding and breeding areas for cranes.

As a result of the uplisting, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), through its partnership with the International Crane Foundation (ICF), has increased its efforts to conserve the Blue Crane, with a strong focus on the Western Cape and Karoo.

Decades of successful conservation interventions yielded positive results in KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Cape, thus the shift in attention to populations in the Western Cape.

Blue Cranes are endemic to South Africa, with a small population found in Namibia, making these the world’s most range-restricted crane. There are less than 30,000 of these birds left in the world.

Efforts to safeguard the Blue Crane in the Western Cape include intensifying work with communities and farmers to restore habitats, and addressing threats posed by energy infrastructure.

This research in the Western Cape was made possible by support from Leiden Conservation Foundation & Hall Johnson Fellowship

Link to article: https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2025.2604223

** Christie A Craig, , Bradley K Gibbons, Tanya Smith, Glenn I Ramke and Peter G Ryan